Until We Bleed
by xgoodxgirlxgonexbadx
Summary: Vera Collins disappeared for a year before she was thrust back into the real world. No one knows what happened to her or how she's still alive. The only clue is a scar on the side of her neck, a crudely carved J. No one knows why the Joker take one of Gotham's socialites. Supposedly she's alright but no one knows what's going on underneath the surface.


**A/N: So this isn't the first time I've decided to delve into the world of Batman fanfiction! However this is the first time I'm actually going to post something for it on here! I got this idea a while back and decided to go with it! It is going to be a Joker/OC story but I'm hoping it's not the stereotypical one that people have seen! This is going to have a lot of mature themes! So if you don't like violence, sex etc then I don't think you want to read this! I haven't written anything like this before! Please be kind if you review but tell me what you think! I swear, I am going to try to update as much as I can! The start is a bit slow and this chapter is short! They won't all be short I swear!Thanks for taking the time to check this out!**

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><p>One year.<p>

Twelve months.

Three hundred and sixty five days.

That was exactly how long Vera had been missing. At least that was what she was told but to me it had felt like longer. Time had no meaning during her time spent in captivity. To be perfectly honest it felt like she had been gone a lifetime. Everyone had thought she was dead, at the bottom of the river or in a dumpster somewhere. Sometimes she wished that she was but she wasn't, she was alive.

Somehow Vera had survived being taken away from everything and everyone she loved. Everyone that saw her kept calling her brave or a survivor. No one actually knew what she had gone through. No one knew that she had been beaten and broken. She knew that they didn't want to see that she had been broken beyond repair. Her body was healing but her mind was still in fragments.

The staff of the hospital had tried to keep her away from the media. There was no doubt the photographers and reporters were buzzing around like vultures. Everyone wanted to know what had happened to her. Vera was the daughter of a very powerful and wealthy couple. Her name and photo had probably graced the news and newspapers of Gotham for months. She had been told that the police had never given up their search and that her parents had always had hope. She knew that they were just words, words meant to comfort her.

Vera spent over a week in the hospital before the doctor said she could be released. Her parents instantly wanted to take her with them to their home. She hadn't lived with them in over three years. She did not intend to move back in with them. They would smother her, hover and that was not what she wanted or needed. She didn't want to have to pretend to be okay. She let them drive her to her apartment which they had kept exactly the same. Thankfully the media didn't know when she was being released.

She refused to let them come up with her because she knew they wouldn't want to leave. She watched them from the lobby as they drove off. Instantly her shoulders dropped as she let out a deep breath. After she was sure they were gone she turned to head to the elevators. Her fingers were trembling as she pressed the button that led to her floor. Her father had given her a key to the place since they had, had the locks changed. She knew that they had probably put more than one lock on the door.

Vera stepped out once the elevator came to a halt. She had to force myself to keep moving and went to unlock the door that she hadn't seen in so long. The moment she stepped inside she felt like she was stepping into the past. The one where she had been innocent, naive and had no idea what kind of dangers the world had. Everything looked just like she remembered it. It was actually clean and the smell of cleaner lingered in the air. Her mother had mentioned that she had hired a cleaning service that came in weekly.

It took her more than a few seconds to actually move inside and shut the door. Her reaction was instantly to lock all of the locks that were on the door. There was a grand total of four and thankfully she had to use the same key for each of them. Her purse dropped from her hand as she took a good look at the place that she had never thought she'd see again.

The idea of walking around was a tempting one but she only had one thing on my mind. That one thing was taking a bath which she hadn't been able to do. In a few strides she was stepping into the room and turning the light on. Her hand shot out to mess with the faucet and get the water hot enough. She knew that her mother had gone out of her way to make sure that she had everything she needed including shampoo and conditioner.

Once the tub was full Vera forced herself to peel off her clothes. Ever since she had been in the hospital she had refused to look at myself. Only because she knew that her body was not what it used to be. She was still practically a rail but her skin no longer had a healthy glow. Her ribs were nearly visible beneath her skin. Her hands ran along her frame as she stood there, alone in the bathroom under the harsh light.

Scars, all kinds of scars now marred her once perfect skin. Some were from a knife and there were a few from cigars. There was a noticeable scar in her side where a bullet had lodged. Everyone had said it was amazing that she hadn't died. No one had mentioned the one scar that they had taken countless photos of. No one had wanted to ask her about the crude J that had been carved into the side of her neck.

Her fingers gathered her raven black curls away from her neck and she turned to look in the mirror. She reached without thinking to run her index finger along it. Instantly remembering the night that she had gotten the scar. It had been six months after she had been taken. The pain had been unbearable and then there was that laughter, that sick laughter. When one of the nurses had given her a sponge bath she had gasped when she saw it. Vera could see the horror in her eyes.

People wanted to pretend that they didn't know what she had been through. They wanted to think that she was just in some horrible accident or had gone away for a while. The scar wouldn't let anyone do that, it would remind everyone of what had happened. It would remind her of what I had been forced to endure.

The scar was a reminder that she wasn't her own person.

It was a reminder that she wasn't even a person. Vera had been property for the past twelve months. At least that was the way that she had been viewed. Freewill hadn't existed for her and she had been dependent on another for everything. Things that people took for granted such as food, water and medication. Women her age could just go to a pharmacy or a store. Her world had been a disgusting, dirty room. Sunlight and fresh air had been a rarity.

Though no one knew what she had been put through. She was certain that people were going to ask, the media especially. Everyone wanted to know what had happened to poor, helpless Vera Collins. The heiress who had once been on the arm of some of Gotham's wealthiest bachelors. She was a shadow of her former self though no one had said so. Deep down they knew, even her parents knew.

Vera forced herself to turn away from the mirror. The tub was full and she reached to turn off the faucet. After a few seconds she slowly stepped into the tub. The hot water was like a jolt to her system. A gasp came from her but she lowered myself into the water anyway. Even though she had been clean for over a week, she still never felt clean enough. She felt like no matter what I did the dirty feeling would never leave her skin.

Her hands scrubbed relentlessly at her skin till it turned red. Even then she didn't stop until her fingers started to ache. All of the bruises that had decorated her frame were starting to fade. All that would be left to remind her of what she had been through would be the countless scars. She knew that no man would look at her the way that they had before. They would stare at her in disgust if they saw her body.

She dunked herself beneath the water and her fingers ran though her hair. Some part of her always thought of giving up. To just not go on living but she knew she couldn't do that. If her parents lost her again she knew that they would be broken, just like she was. Before she never understood what it was like to have your mind be smashed to pieces.

However she knew better than anyone what it was like. Her body had been broken first and then it had been her mind.

The Joker had made sure of that.


End file.
